This Reversed Life
by SorryWrongUsername
Summary: Christina has had to be responsible since she was 11 when her father died of sickness. She had to mature for the sake of her little sister, Rose. But by age 16, she's tired of it. She wants her childhood back, she want's to be free. She simply wants to be her. While going through initiation, she realizes just how reversed her life is now and she likes it. Well it and an Erudite. AU
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Trilogy, it belongs to Veronica Roth.

Lots of things will be reversed and changed from the original plot line, for instance this will be in Christina's point of view.

* * *

I stand tense as I cut my hand and my blood slowly drip over the coals making a slight sizzling sound. My hand stings a little but I ignore it. Instead I listen to the group of people dressed in black; the Dauntless. They're stomping their feet, whistling, and shouting. Doing whatever they can to show their pride. Maybe next year that would be me. I could be the one screaming for the initiates, showing the pride that I earned.

I step down from the platform and walk over to them. Someone stands up and shakes my hand―which I find quite odd but intriguing because of his grip. He's got a lip piercing and tattoos lining his arms. He offers me a seat and I take it, thanking him.

More names are called but I ignore it all. I'm paying attention to my family. My father passed away years ago to some sickness. It hurt to know he'd never get to see my ceremony or Rose's but I had gotten over it years ago. Rose was looking at me directly and it almost made me avoid contact but I couldn't. I was Dauntless now, I had to face my problems head on not run from them.

Her eyes, the eyes that mirrored my own, stared at me. They were hollow. I didn't need her to show emotion to know what she was feeling. She was upset, sad, disappointed, but proud. She knew I hadn't been the same since Dad's death. I had grown up since then, I had taken responsibility and matured early. But I was tired of it. Having to take care of a mother who would sometimes just zone out at the slightest memory of the man who she had loved and lost. Tired of taking care of the sister who looked up to me for everything. Rose had never been hard to take care of, she knew that we struggled to cope with everything and tried her hardest to be the best she could but she was still a kid. I grew up so she didn't have to. So she wouldn't be deprived of the childhood that I lost five years ago. But it was all too much. Dauntless was my chance to be me. To be Christina, for me to be responsible but childish. So call me a coward for chasing the childhood I lost and leaving everyone else behind because that's what I am. But that can all change. And who knows, Rose might choose Dauntless when it's her turn. But as I stared at the face that reflected my own, I couldn't help but worry if I had made the wrong choice.

My mother was totally different. She smiled but sadly. She had now lost two people she loved but to two different causes. I couldn't tell if she was proud or angry―probably both. Proud that I had made a choice but angry that she was losing me. Her eyes didn't affect me as much. I loved my mother, I did but I loved Rose more. She was the only one who wasn't completely affected my dad's death. Mom had completely devoted herself to working and taking care of us. Nothing more. She didn't bond with us as well as she did before no matter how much she tried. Don't get me wrong, she was a great mother but I couldn't help but feel that she wasn't _my _mother anymore; not the one I grew up with at least. But nonetheless she smiled.

Before I knew it, we were walking away. I spared one last glance at my mother and sister who smile and wave before walking away. I sighed and followed the rest, sprinting to catch up. I briefly wonder what wonders will happen while at Dauntless. They've always seemed so wild, free, and uncontrollable.

We go down the steps and they take off running. There are a few of us transfers that stand there confused but quickly follow. We burst through the exit and I hear some people shout confused. The Dauntless spread out across the street standing in front of the bus. Passersby roll their eyes as if seeing this is a normal part of their. I run and end up somewhere near the middle of the crowd. We run down the street and around a corner and I vaguely hear a loud horn. It was the unmistakable sound of the train that the Dauntless always drop out of to get to places. That's when I realized the only way to get to wherever the Dauntless compound was we'd have to get on it.

Then I realize, as the train barrels toward us, that we'd have to be jumping on it. On a moving train. They start to spread out in a long line as the train gets closer. As it nears, they all jump on and I follow suit with a moment's hesitation. I notice that the transfers are the only ones left. I help as many as I can but some aren't too willing to cooperate out of fear. They start running as I yell at them but my voice goes unheard over the sound of the roaring wind that the speed of the train is causing. Most of them get in with little to no problem due to their height and I sigh when I think it's the last one only to notice that there's one more left. I see her hanging on to the handle, clutching for dear life. She looks determined but even I can tell that she's slightly frightened. As I'm about to reach out to help her, I notice her clothing. Grey. She's from Abnegation. She's a _stiff. _What was a stiff doing in Dauntless?

I realize that she's still holding on and I reach out, yelling at her to grab on to my hand. When she does, she comes flying into the train car, sending us both tumbling to the ground. I get up and brush myself off, white isn't exactly something you want to get dirty. I hear a shout and see a red-headed Erudite boy running towards the train. I swear he wasn't there moments before, I would've helped him if he was. Another Erudite reached to help him, but I knew it was no use. I was taller than her and if I couldn't reach him neither could she. If he didn't run faster he'd be factionless.

And I was right. The train was simply too fast for the boy, and he collapsed beside the track. I honestly felt sorry for him but ignored the feeling. I left Candor so I wouldn't constantly have to feel sorry for people.

"You all right?" I ask the stiff that I just helped. My voice comes out more energetic than I had expected but this was the first time I felt so alive.

She nods and I finally look at her. I mean really look at her. She was short with straw blonde hair and blue-gray eyes that seem excited but worried. If she hadn't been here right now I honestly wouldn't believe she was sixteen. She looked like she was twelve or thirteen years old due to her small size and childish face. She'd get crushed here. I offered her my hand. "I'm Christina."

She takes my hand and shakes it twice. "Beatrice."

The wind picks up so I have to shout, "Do you know where we're going?"

She doesn't answer but scans the train. "A fast train means wind," is all she says, taking a seat. "Wind means falling out. Get down."

I don't question her and just sit down. If a stiff tells you something it's more often than not because they want to help you.

"I guess we're going to Dauntless headquarters but I don't know where that is."

I shake my head, grinning. Something about how fast this train is going simply exhilarates me. "Does anyone? It's like they just popped out of a hole in the ground or something."

The wind rushes through the car sending chills down my spine and I watch with a laugh as the faction transfers fall on top of each other. I turn and see Beatrice smiling slightly.

Before I knew it, I hear someone shout, "They're jumping off!"

My head snaps up quickly and sure enough they Dauntless born are jumping off of the train and onto the building. Now I was starting to worry. There was a huge gap in between the train and the building and the train was at least seven stories up. If I didn't jump I'd be factionless. If I didn't _make _said jump I'd be dead. Neither option sounded real appealing.

"We have to jump off too, then," the person to my left says. Only then do I realize it's Molly and I bite my lip.

"Great," the boy she's talking to, Peter says. I didn't even know they had switched. Great, more stuff to deal with. "Because that makes perfect sense, Molly. Leap off a train onto a roof."

"This is kind of what we signed up for, Peter," Molly reminds him. No! Let him stay, forget him.

"Well I'm not doing it," an Amity says n

"You've got to," I tell him as I see tears streak his face, "or you fail. Come on, it'll be all right."

"No it won't!" he protests. "I'd rather be factionless than dead."

I sigh. There was no changing his mind. "You can't force him," Beatrice says. And I know, but I want to. I feel uneasy at the thought of leaving another person behind.

"Here," I offer her my hand and she quirks an eyebrow. "I just cant do it unless someone drags me." She nods and takes my hand. And together we jump.

When we land, she lets go of my hand and I laugh. "That was fun," I breathe.

Before I have the chance to compose myself, I hear screaming and someone talking soothingly. I don't turn. I'm pretty sure I know what it is but I don't want to turn and find out that I was right.

I walk over to where the Dauntless born stand. I notice Peter picking on Beatrice but I don't help. She'd have to make her own rep here or else she'd only fail.

"Listen up! My name is Max! I am one of the leaders of your new faction!" a middle-aged man shouts. "Several stories below us is the members' entrance to our compound," guess I was right, they do pop out of holes. "If you can't muster the courage to jump off, you don't belong here. Our initiates have the privilege of going first."

Some Erudite shrieks, "You want us to jump off a ledge?"

Why does jumping off a ledge frighten her more than jumping off a moving train?"

"Yes," Max grins.

The Erudite keeps asking questions and Max answers them looking like he's trying hard not to laugh. None of his answers seem to please any of us transfers. But the only ones who do look happy which are the Dauntless born can't go because of direct orders so they make a path for us. And of course, no one moved. Not until I see a flash of gray does someone move. I can only watch as the stiff jumps first.

* * *

After we've all jumped, we stand there in a huddle waiting for instruction. Thankfully, a tall woman who can't be but a few years older than us and a man who looks around the same age as her walk over. She stands around my height with dark brown hair and three silver rings through her eyebrow with her lips currently set in a smirk. He's tall, taller than her with a muscular build and broad shoulders. His deep blue eyes are hard and uninviting and I turn away.

The girl steps forward. "I'm Lauren," she introduces. "I don't care for your names but I'll end up learning it anyway." She points to the man next to her. "This is Four. He'll be instructing the transfers while I'll be instructing the Dauntless born. Assuming the Dauntless born don't need a tour, find a transfer and pair up. It'll be your job to show them around."

The man, Four speaks, "While we are instructing them you will help as there are two of us and many of you. You will be ranked separately until the final stage where you will be ranked altogether."

"Ranked?" an Erudite boy with shaggy blonde hair asks. Four nods.

"Why are we being ranked?"

Lauren smirks. "You'll find out." Obviously the boy didn't like having knowledge withheld from him but looked too frightened to say anything. "Pair up." When nobody moved she ordered more forcibly, "Now!"

Us transfers scurried closer to the Dauntless born as they only smirked and slowly walked close to us. I saw a boy with a giant smile with the same skin color as me walk towards Beatrice—Tris as she had now reintroduced herself as.

I didn't know what to do so I stood there standing around until a pretty blonde girl skipped over to me with a bubbly smile. "Hi, I'm Marlene."

I honestly didn't believe that she was Dauntless due to her Amity happiness but I suddenly believed her when she accidently flashed her tattoos. "Since you don't look like you have anybody else, I'll be showing you around and helping you out."

I nod, unsure of what else to do. "I'm Christina." I say extending my hand for her to shake and she takes it, shaking it firmly. She's a lot stronger than she looks.

"Well c'mon," she urges, "lets' go. After the tour I'll introduce you to my friends."

She then proceeded to literally haul me away with me trying to get out of her iron grasp. What has she been drinking?

But I have no time to wonder as we had already made our first stop.

* * *

Told you some stuff was going to be changed. They now have to pair up. I'm still upset that the three important dauntless born imitates aren't introduced until later in the book and we don't really get to know them until around the time two of the, are stupidly killed off. So I changed it up and other stuff'll be reversed like I earlier mentioned. Yeah well bye.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Trilogy. It belongs to Veronica Roth.

I so did not like how parts of the last chapter turned out. Thanks to my tablet, I had quite a few grammar mistakes but I'm way too lazy to change them so whatever.

* * *

"This is the Chasm," the bubbly girl in front of me giggles as water sprays our bodies. I glance over the railing at the deep hole. "Don't get too close. Just a slip and you'll definitely die."

I look at Marlene incredulously. What's so funny about that? I ask her just that and she grins as if it's an inside joke. "Dauntless constantly come here to just stand but I have a friend who willing hangs from it just because she can. Her hand has never once slipped." As I got a good look at her, she seemed prettier than what I had noticed before. Her blonde hair framed her face perfectly and her mystic eyes seemed to hold a light that would never die. She was a lot shorter than me about Tris' size, just a little taller. She stood lean and agile and looked stronger than what you'd expect her to be due to her sinewy shoulders. She was one of those girls who knew they were naturally pretty and still did something about it. Just like me.

"What's the point of keeping it there?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's supposed to remind us that there's a fine line between bravery and idiocy." She snorts. "Hasn't stopped Lynn from hanging from it and it hasn't stopped anyone else from jumping. And trust me, at least one person jumps each year."

Her smile was starting to appear more frightening by the minute. I compose myself and nod so we can move along. Being next to a deadly chasm isn't exactly number one on my list. Not even number two or three. Though I did find it incredibly interesting.

"I'll show you to some of our hideouts in a minute," she says as she leads me towards some random platform that overlooks a massive crowd of Dauntless. "This is the Pit. It's where we eat, run, hang out. Shit like that." I was slightly shocked by vulgar language but I remembered just where we were. This wasn't Candor, this was Dauntless. Candor had a right of free speech but there was this unspoken rule that said no cursing. Here in Dauntless they had a different type of right to free speech: say what you want and forget everything else.

She led me through a gaping hole in the wall of the pit. They were seriously proving my theory on them popping out of random and literal holes. She led me to a table where Tris was seated with the same grinning boy from earlier. "Uri!" she called and he turned and flashed her a grin. They hugged as I walked over, awkwardly.

"Ouch, Marlene," the boy chuckled. "You're smothering me."

She hit him. "Shut up. Where's Lynn?"

He shrugged, confused. Marlene brushed it off. "Well this is Christina. Christina this is Uriah, one of my best friends." He had the same skin color as me and was tall almost a whole head taller than me. He was muscular but nowhere as muscular as Four. He was handsome with his dark brown eyes and charming smile and I had a feeling he knew he was too.

"Nice to meet you, Christina," he shook my hand with the same massive grin that seemed like it never faltered. "Marlene, Christina, this is Tris. And as you heard this is Marlene and Christina."

"We already met," Tris says quietly.

"Really?" I nod. "Okay then, let's eat."

Only then did I notice the tray of food in front of us. I grabbed some as did Uriah and Marlene but Tris on the other hand stared it. Before I could help her out, a girl that looked only a few inches taller than Tris walked over with the shaggy blonde-haired Erudite from earlier and Al, another Candor.

"Lynn," Uriah and Marlene exclaimed. The girl looked as if she was trying hard not to smile at the two. She had mid-back length golden brown hair that looked a little shorter than Marlene's. Her eyes matched her hair. They had this mischievous glint that made me want to hide all my belongings in fear she would steal them off me if I turned for even a second. She stood confident and cocky as if she knew she could kick your ass without a second thought and I didn't doubt it. She looked strong and was just as lean and agile as Marlene. She was naturally pretty, striking even and I knew she knew it but she didn't like the fact that she was. That would explain the baggy clothes she was wearing.

"Mar, Uri," she greeted them with a smirk. No sooner did she get the words out was she engulfed in a hug by Marlene. "Okay, okay, Marlene. I missed you too though we saw each other ten minutes ago. Now get off me, you're smothering me."

"That's what I said!" Uriah exclaimed from right next to me.

"Oh whatever," Marlene waved it off. "So who are they?"

Lynn's smirk turned to a scowl and she groaned. "The Erudite who won't shut up is Will and the Candor who won't say shit is Al."

"Hi," Marlene greeted and the rest of us followed suit.

Uriah took over. "I'm Uriah, the bubbly girl beside me is Marlene and the girl who introduced you, as you know, is Lynn." He introduced. "This right here is Tris and that one over there is Christina."

"Hi," Will greeted and I returned the gesture. Will already seemed like he was going to end up on my bad side. He was good looking, I'd admit that. His celery green eyes had that know-it-all glint in them. He was tall, not as tall as Uriah but still tall. He seemed like if he tried hard enough he could grow more muscle than what he had and I don't just mean lifting a ten pound book every day.

"How'd you get stuck with two?" Uriah asked Lynn.

"Lauren made Gabe and I both take two since we've got more this year." He just nodded.

They continued their conversation and I listened to some of it. "I'm thinking about shaving my head." Lynn had said.

Uriah seemed intrigued while Marlene gaped. "You so should!" Uriah encouraged. Marlene was another story. 'No, but I like your hair!"

They talked with no problems. It's like they forgot we were even there.

When they did remember, they didn't exactly say what I had expected. Not at all.

Lynn seemed interested in Tris. "So you're the stiff?"

Tris shrugged and nodded.

"Do you speak?" she nodded again.

"I understand you not talking unless spoken to because of your old stiff standards but we're in Dauntless. Are you going to speak at all?"

She didn't answer and Lynn sighed. "Typical stiff," she spits.

"Lynn," a grinning Uriah intervened. How is this boy always grinning? "She's not an Abnegation anymore."

"She isn't exactly Dauntless either."

"She did jump first."

"That's because we had a bunch of wussies as transfers this year."

Uriah shrugged. "Can't exactly argue with that."

Just as Marlene was about to say something that was most definitely too happy and perky, Lauren and Four walked over to our table. Lauren sat on the other side of Lynn and Four sat on the other side of Tris.

Lauren grinned at the three Dauntless born. "I see you three have gotten to know the stiff." I knew she was referring to Tris but she kept glancing over at Four. Marlene, Uriah, and Lynn seemed to get what she was hinting at as did Four which was more than what any of the rest of us could say.

"I like how you automatically single out the stiff when we have two Candors and an Erudite," Lynn says taking a bite out of her burger.

Lauren shrugs. "Yeah but we always get Candor and Erudite transfers. It's not every day we get a stiff." Once again she's looking at Four.

"I wanna see the day we get an Amity," Marlene speaks up.

"There was an Amity who transferred," Will says. "Don't know what happened to him though."

"He refused to jump off the train," I answer.

"At least he made it further than the first." Uriah shrugged.

We look at him confused so he explains. "Usually when we get an Amity, they never even make it to the train. That's why there's only been one now two."

I stay silent. Instead I turn to Tris who's still staring at her burger in wonder. Four notices. "It's a hamburger," he hands her some ketchup. "Here. Put this on it."

"Have you seriously never seen a hamburger?" Will asks.

"Oh so that's what it's called," she furrows her brow. "I've seen them I've just never had one."

"Why not?" I find myself asking.

"Abnegation eat plain food." Tris says, speaking up for the first time since the others walked over.

"Now I can see why you left," Lynn chuckles. It causes the entire table to laugh too, even Tris laughs and it's at her own expense.

"Why? What rule does it go against to eat hamburgers?"

"Extravagance is considered indulgent and unnecessary," Four says.

"Yeah, Four would know a whole lot about that," Lauren smirks. The Dauntless born don't need to ask because they already know what she's getting at and us transfers don't ask out of fear of our instructors.

"So," Al says. I almost forgot he was here. "How do you all know each other?" he obviously felt odd asking the question from the way he was glancing down at his plate.

"Our parents were friends as kids so we've known each other since practically birth. Though Lauren is closer to Lynn's older sister, Shauna, and my older brother, Zeke. And Four is friends with the three of them."

Al nods.

The eight of us continue on talking until some man named Eric walks over and "borrows" Four and from the looks of it, neither of them are happy with the arrangement.

After lunch, we're all sent back to the dormitories. They decided that both Dauntless born and faction transfers would be staying in the same ones. Lauren and Four explain how we'll all be sharing and whatnot. Even that we'll be sharing showers, then Four made some weird joke about how us Candors would just love the showers before they up and left.

The Dauntless born all quickly rush to get a top bunk and end up taking the majority of them only leaving a few while us transfers stand there awkwardly. "Well hurry up," Marlene urges. I've decided she's a very impatient person. "Pick a bunk and lay the hell down!"

We do as told and I take the bunk under her while Tris takes the bunk to my left under Lynn. Al takes the bottom bunk to my right with nobody on top and Will takes the one under Uriah who's on the far left. It was no surprise that Lynn, Marlene, and Uriah got bunks right next to each other. They seemed like they were completely inseparable. At least I knew that if I was trying to find Marlene all I needed to know was where Lynn or Uriah were.

Uriah leaned down so he was staring right at us. "Tomorrow training starts. Be up by eight. If you're late you get punished. We'll try and wake you up but no promises. We'll be helping you to the best of our ability while training ourselves. Do yourselves a favor and listen to everything we say."

We nod. "Any questions?" we shake our heads. "Good. Now get some sleep, you'll need it."

I didn't doubt we would.

* * *

More things changed. For one, I'm not really sure when Lynn shaved her head. She's supposed to be gorgeous and hate the fact that she is so I assumed she started to dislike it during training and that's when she cut her hair. So yeah. I might not even have her shave it.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the Divergent Trilogy.

* * *

A strangled sob awakes me from my slumber. I don't need to get up to know who it is: Al. Homesickness is a painful and powerful thing, it can bring out the worst in the toughest people. Whether you truly care for your family or not.

I don't move to help him because no one else does. The Dauntless born are either asleep or ignoring him but I know that the three that we met are awake. They hear his sobs but they choose to do nothing. They're toughening him up; preparing him for what's to come. I'm no stiff but I still want to help him. As an act of kindness or because he was a friend or just because his fragileness reminds me of the ones I left behind; I can't tell the reason but I don't move. Sometimes letting it all out is the best solution. And sometimes giving them a leg up helps more than anyone can imagine. I let my exhaustion make my choice. I drift to sleep.

I'm awoken again but this time it's because of the people shaking ne awake, not because of someone's muffled cry. "Wake up, idiots! Get up!"

Al, Tris and I wake instantly but Will doesn't and receives a punch to the stomach. He groans in pain. "Good, you're finally up, Nose." Lynn grumbles.

"Get changed and hurry up. We've got about an hour until we've got to be down there and we've got to get there early if you guys want some pointers." Uriah orders and we do as we're told.

We dress in the black clothes we're given and walk over to the trio. As soon as they see us approaching they glance at each other and take off running. The four of us stare at each other before sprinting to catch up. We have some trouble as they've done this all their lives but we manage to keep in seeing distance.

The trio burst through a set of thick double doors and we follow right after. They stop abruptly and the four of us skid to avoid running into them. They grin at us. "You guys are slow but with a little work, that could all change." Uriah says.

"Now today we're supposed to be working on aim so there's really nothing we can tell you. We'll have to wait until after our instructors show you guys the proper technique to start helping you," Marlene adds.

"But until then . . ." I didn't like the way Lynn's eyes lit up. "Drop and give us fifty."

We stare at them. "I said drop!" We get down instantly. We struggle with the push-ups and it doesn't help the fact they kept applying pressure to our bodies.

"What was the point of that?" I ask rolling my neck around my shoulders

"To strengthen your arms and help with upper-body strength which it seems only Al here has."

"You guys can relax until the rest of the initiates, Lauren and Four have all shown up."

"Why are we the only ones up and down here? No one else was even up," Will asks, taking a seat on the ground. The rest of our group follow suit.

"First off, if you went to catch your breath then stand up and put your hands over your head. Second, that's because nobody else truly wants to make it through initiation."

"We're supposed to mentor you guys while we're being mentored ourselves. And _we've _dreamed about this ever since we knew about initiation. Now that we have to watch over you guys, our goal isn't just for _us _to make it through but for _you _to as well."

"And we'll be damned if it doesn't happen."

"So what do we do now?"

"Well you can either sit there or you can get up and run around the perimeter of the training room ten times." Marlene suggested. "We don't really care which one you pick honestly."

"I'm good," Will said and the rest of us agreed.

"Pansycakes," Uriah muttered, earning a jab in the ribs from Lynn and a kick to the shins from Marlene.

"What's a pansycake?" Seems like I'm not the only one who was curious.

"It's supposed to be some old Dauntless insult that no one says anymore," Lynn elaborates.

"Yeah, because it's so insulting," supports Uriah.

"No, because it's so stupid," Marlene corrects.

"Uri's taken it upon himself to _try _and bring it back."

"And without much success," Marlene laughs.

Uriah defends himself, "Only because people are too afraid to say it."

"Yeah _that's _why. Why hadn't I realized that?"

Uriah rolls his eyes. "Well since I'm no pansycake, I'm going to run. Don't know about you idiots though…" he trails off, grinning. He knows what trouble he's getting himself into. The two girls' eyes light up, mischievously and before anyone can say anything, the three are taking off.

"Don't you think we should run?" I stand next to Tris. "I mean if we've got any chance making it through initiation then we might as well go ahead and try and improve."

"If they were teaching us how to improve, wouldn't they be teaching us how to fight?"

"They probably can't," Tris says. "It's probably against the rules. Getting us to run and do push-ups must help somehow with our form and technique."

"So then, shall we?" I question. They nod and we all start at a light jog to warm up. Gradually, we speed up. And by the time we've finished the laps, people are flowing in. First to show up are, of course, Four and Lauren. They laugh quietly when they see what Uriah, Marlene, and Lynn are having us do.

"Alright, listen up," Four orders as soon as we're all here and we've all been handed guns. "The first thing you will learn today is how to shoot a gun. The second thing is how to win a fight."

Lauren took over, "Initiation is divide into three stages. We will measure your progress and rank you according to your performance in each stage. The stages are not weighed equally in determining your final rank. So you can improve your ranking despite what rank you've previously gotten."

"We believe that preparation eradicates cowardice which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear," says Four. "Therefore each stage of initiation is intended to prepare you in a different way. The first stage is primarily physical; the second, primarily emotional; the third, primarily mental."

Peter makes the mistake of yawning. "But what . . . What does firing a gun have to do with . . . bravery?" He's seriously treading on dangerous waters.

Four flips the gun he was holding, presses it to his forehead, and clocks a bullet in place. Peter freezes, mid-yawn. "Wake. Up," Four seethes. "You're holding a loaded gun, you idiot. Act like you are." Peter looks as if he wants to say something, any Candor would, but he decides against it and closes his mouth.

Four lowers the gun and Peter's green eyes immediately harden. "And to answer your question . . . you are far less likely to soil your pants and cry for your mother if you're prepared to defend yourself." All through this, Lauren's smirking knowingly. It's as if she can't stop smirking, that or she finds if amusing watching us all squirm. I don't doubt that it's both. "This is also information you may need later in stage one. So, watch us." Lauren and Four turn towards the target and fire all in sync. I turn to look at the targets, covering my ears due to the resounding fire. Both of their shots hit the center and perfectly so.

"Now find your partners and get to work," Lauren commands. "We'll be helping wherever we can. Though I doubt the Dauntless born need help."

We found our partners—well Marlene found me and slowly bounced over. She was so full of childish innocence, it was almost ironically comical. She beckons me forward and we find two targets. First she shoots and makes a few inches away from the center. I turn and try the same. I miss on my first try and she walks over. "Here, try this," she says, wrapping her arms around me. She adjusts my aim, spreads my feet apart and tells me to tighten my core which I have no problem doing thanks to my height.

I try again and miss but it was closer and she smiles, encouragingly before walking back over to her target. She, Uriah, and Lynn make it seem so easy but I can see that we're struggling. They help us, and we slowly improve but is if enough? Will hits the center first out of the four of us and grins and mutters something about stats.

I turn back to my target and squint at it. I tighten my core to help with the impact of the fire, angle my body correctly, and take aim. I breathe in and out. _In. Out. In. Out. _

I fire and end up closing my eyes while doing so.

When I open them, I'm met with a surprise.

_I hit the center._

* * *

And that's it. I had trouble writing this chapter. I really did but eh. Lots more of the things being changed and reversed will come up soon.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm not sure how many times I'm going to have to say it but the Divergent Trilogy is not mine. If it was then Marlene, Lynn, and Uriah would still be alive. I've finally figured out all the things I want to have reversed. So yay, I guess.

* * *

So far the only one who hasn't hit the target out of our motley group is Tris. The trio were able to hit the center with ease and continued to do so effortlessly. Will, Al, and I struggled to continue to hit it but managed fairly well and soon we were all capable of hitting it with little to no trouble.

Will grins over at her. "Statistically speaking you should have hit the target at least once by now, even by accident."

Uriah scowls at him. "Hey, she's getting better so watch it, Erudite."

Lynn glares at Uriah. "He's right. She should've hit the target a long time ago. Maybe you should help her instead of grinning like an idiot."

"Now, now, children," Marlene makes a _tut-tut _noise. "Stop with your petty bickering. It's giving mama a headache."

Uriah and Lynn stare at her briefly before Lynn turns back to her target and Uriah walks over to help Tris. He fixes her technique and adjusts her aim. When he releases her, she immediately fires and she manages to hit the target. She grins, proudly and continues to shoot until she hits the center. Uriah gave out a whoop of triumph. "Victory!"

"You're a dumb ass," Lynn says from beside me and Marlene lots out a snort of laughter.

"Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine."

"Yeah," Lynn adjusts her aim. "I shine so bright, I burn people's eyes." She covered her eyes with her hand and fired.

Dead center.

She grinned. "And I just got brighter."

"Oh no one likes a show off." Uriah muttered rolling his eyes. The trio must have been really close to be able to tease and insult each other and laugh about it. True friends were really hard to come by but I also sensed something else in the midst. Something that made me want to let out a squeal. It was obviously love but I couldn't tell who it was between. Uriah and Lynn? Or Uriah and Marlene? They both seemed like very likely choices. Maybe it was a love triangle, but who was the center?

We continued to shoot until Eric called for us to stop. He was a very intimidating person. He told us to break for lunch and to come straight back afterwards. Anyone who was late got kicked out. Simple as that, but also very confusing. I didn't think we'd be kicked out if we had a low ranking but then again, I wasn't much of an Erudite either.

We really just followed Uriah, Lynn, and Marlene to wherever they went since we really had nowhere else to go. After we grabbed our food, we all sat down and of course, Lauren and Four weren't too far away.

Lauren was obviously smirking. "How did your day go? Fun? Uneventful?"

"You were there, dipshit."

Lauren turned towards Lynn and smirked. "Lynn, what have we said about referring to people as 'dipshit'?" She cooed jokingly.

Lynn didn't even look up. "And what have I told you about telling me what to do?"

Lauren turned back to us. "Aren't the three of them just so cute?"

I looked at her strangely. "Yeah," I muttered. "Downright adorable."

"So how come you guys aren't sitting with your groups?" Marlene asked.

"What do you mean?" Will asked.

Uriah elaborated. "She wants to know why you aren't sitting with your friends from your old faction."

"Technically, I am. I have Al," I say. "And the others are complete douches."

"They aren't my friends. Besides, Edward and Myra are dating. Just because you three are a trio doesn't mean I want to be a third wheel."

Uriah and Marlene got defensive. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Their question was ignored. Instead we turned towards Edward and Myra who were a few tables down from us. Myra leaned up and kissed Edward and he kissed back. The only one who seemed even the slightest bit unnerved was Tris. "Do they have to do that in public?"

We stared at her. "They're just kissing. What's wrong?"

"You shouldn't kiss in public. Public display of affection is wrong and should be reserved for a more private time." Our jaws dropped slightly.

Lynn turned towards Uriah in disbelief. "And you mean to tell me that you willingly picked her?"

"Lynn," Uriah warned. "Play nice." She huffed not saying anything else.

"So what are we doing next?" Al quietly asked.

Four and Lauren looked as if they were debating on telling us. Lauren shrugged. "Knives then fighting."

"Are you even allowed to tell us this?"

Lauren nodded. "Yes but we aren't allowed to tell you about the second stage."

"I've heard about that. Apparently no one can prepare you for what's in it. " Marlene chirped and Lauren rolled her eyes.

"Yes, because I told you that, little cousin."

Marlene glared at Lauren and she did the same. I decided to intervene. "Is anyone here not related?"

"Sure. Plenty of people. We just don't hang out with them if we aren't."

"Well we do." Uriah corrected Marlene. "We hang out with a lot of people, pretty much anyone and everyone. We just don't let them in our inside group."

"But we're here," Will said. I could practically see the wheels in his head turning.

"And your point is . . .?"

Will blinked. "You're with us but you don't let people in your inner group. That doesn't make sense."

"Who said you're in our inner group? We're simply tolerating you because we have to in order to pass initiation." Lynn said.

"And just like that, Lynn ruined the lives of four innocent and naïve teenagers: Will, the Nose; Al, the quiet one; Christina the loud mouth; and oh—almost forgot the stiff," Lauren narrated. "Tune back in next weekend for another episode of _How to Ruin Lauren's Life."_

Four rolled his eyes and stood up. I almost forgot he was there. "It's time for us to go or else Eric will get passed and I really don't want to deal with his attitude." We sighed and stood up as well.

Guess it was time to go back to training.


End file.
